It may seem trivial, but people who feel appreciated at work generally feel more engaged, motivated and energised. Feeling appreciated no matter what situation we’re in is a basic human need: We want to feel like the people around us love, appreciate and care for us. So why would the workplace be any different?
So what happens when you don’t feel appreciated at work? You put in hard work and nobody notices what you have done. Maybe you are being overlooked for new projects or roles within the company. Or maybe you just don’t get paid enough. When you feel underappreciated, it might make you feel like you don’t belong and make you worry about your career path. You will start to wonder: Why am I doing this? What’s the point? When we don’t feel like we’re appreciated or valued, it’s hard to remember why we chose to do this job in the first place.
When you do feel appreciated at work, you will experience a sense of flow. You understand why you’re doing what you’re doing. Your management sees your potential and they have a clear sense of what you’re contributing to the company. And so do you! Your job is aligned with your values and it is aligned with the impact you want to have in the world.
There’s a great example of feeling valued in the movie ‘Hidden Figures’. When a cleaner at NASA was asked what he was doing there, he said: “I am helping to put the first man on the moon “. That just says it all. Maybe he was ‘just’ cleaning the floors, but he knew why he was doing it. And without a doubt, NASA made him feel appreciated and valued.
If you want to feel happy in your job, you have to feel appreciated. And the other way around. It’s that simple. So if you don’t feel appreciated at work, don’t just sweep it under the rug. Start thinking about ways you can make yourself be seen and appreciated. And if you’re struggling, keep an eye on my blog. In a future blog I will help you think of ways you can make yourself be seen and valued and what you should do when it’s just not working.
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